A friend recently obtained a sword that he'd like to know more about. He hasn't been able yet to get at the tang of the sword, though he's hoping that might help reveal more about the age/history of the blade. In the meantime, though, we're curious about the hilt & scabbard seemingly carved from bone.

We'd rather not share the images here, but if one or two of our resident sword experts is willing to take the time to take a look, I could send them the images privately.

I'll take a look. I really would need to see the nakago to be more confident. There were many carved bone koshirae exported out of Japan for the tourist trade. Typically the blade contained within are little more than steel tsunagi and of little import. Some of the koshirae show skillful execution and therein lies the value, not the sword itself, of course there are rare exceptions.
excelsiorilluminati(at)yahoo.ca
John_________________知恵は時間及びエネルギーである

I was intrigued and looking forward to hearing about it here - are they fakes? Are they long lost Masamune swords? Are they Chinese reproductions? I'm on the edge of my seat here._________________Shop Amazon.com, support the Samurai Archives: http://amzn.to/wnDX2j

As John kindly shared, it's a typical form of Meiji export art. Intricately carved figural images on hilt and scabbard; nothing special about the blade._________________My blog on Japanese art & history: http://chaari.wordpress.com